As the baseball season heads into its last month, some teams are experiencing the excitement of a playoff run. Teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics are doing it again, so they are old hats to this. Others, like the Kansas City Royals (who haven’t been to the postseason since 1985), are new to the experience. Then there are the teams like the Chicago Cubs, who again, for the 106th straight season, will not win a World Series.
The Cubs have been celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Friendly Confines, also known as Wrigley Field. It is incredible to believe that there has never been a World Series celebration by the Cubs there.
There has been hope this season, however, even though the Cubs have a 61-76 record, and have gone through the worst three-year period in franchise history.
The reason for hope in the middle of misery is the Chicago Cubs’ minor league system. After years of being poorly run, Epstein has turned it into one of the best. Three of the top ten prospects on just about everyone’s list, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Addison Russell, are in the Chicago system. One who wasn’t in the top ten, Jorge Soler, may be the best hitter in the system.
Baez and Soler are already in the show. Baez was brought up about a month ago, and though he has a lot of strikeouts (47 in 107 AB’s) and a low batting average (.196), he does have seven home runs, ranking him 14th already.
Soler was called up on Wednesday, and has dazzled since. In 15 at-bats, he already has three homers. In fact, of his eight hits, five of them are for extra base hits.
There are other prospects that are fueling Cubs’ fans hopes. Arismendy Alcantara has six homers himself in just 188 at-bats. Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs’ pitcher of the year last season, is 5-1 with a 1.91 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He has even been compared to Greg Maddux in terms of his control and preparation.
Add to that Starlin Castro, a 24-year-old who already is a three-time All Star, and Anthony Rizzo, who is having a breakout season, and one can see why Cubs fans’ cries of “Wait till next year!” may not be as crazy as it normally is.
The Cubs could be on the cusp of ridding themselves of that “Lovable losers” tag. The question is, will the Ricketts family go all in and give Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer what they need to properly build a consistent winner?
The Cubs have had a history of owners not putting winning as a priority. In the 1960’s, P.K. Wrigley had his silly idea of the “College of Coaches.” There is also the Tribune Company, which put profits over wins, that resulted in letting Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux, the winningest pitchers of his generation, to walk away from the Cubs after winning his first Cy Young Award pitching for them.
Of course, in order for the Cubs to be serious about winning they need to spend money. A team cannot win with rookies alone. They will have to delve deep into free agency this offseason.
The Cubs did signal that they were willing to invest in top-tier players when they claimed the Philadelphia Phillies’ Cole Hamels on waivers. Hamels is due to make $110 million over the next five seasons.
They ultimately did not acquire Hamels, but the move indicates that they are going all in.
In the offseason, there will be pitchers like Jon Lester (who played with the Boston Red Sox when Epstein was there), Max Scherzer and Justin Masterson who could be available. With a plethora of prospects still down on the farm, there is also the possibility of trades happening.
Epstein has brought a new attitude to the North side of Chicago. He talks about the “Cubs way” a lot. The old Cubs way was to field a good team a couple of times each decade and struggle the other times. The new Cubs way involves a well thought out plan, a plan that involves trying to win consistently and become real title contenders.
The Ricketts deserve some credit as well. Tom Ricketts has been out of Epstein’s way in handling the team. Yes, he is the boss, but he knows that his baseball knowledge is limited, and Epstein is the expert. In terms of Wrigley renovations or revenue, Ricketts is the expert. He sticks to what he knows.
Epstein already has a history of turning around a franchise that had a long drought without winning. The Red Sox went 86 years without a title, and they won two with Epstein. The franchise was willing to let him do his thing and their faith was rewarded. It appears that the Ricketts are also putting their faith in him, and allowing him to work his magic.
Cubs fans are certainly hoping that faith works out in Chicago.